Diabetes patients in north-east Coventry will benefit from an &#xA3;86,000 boost to improve nurse-led care.

The money will pay for two specialist nurses to work with sufferers in controlling their condition which should help to avoid further problems such as kidney and eye troubles, heart disease, stroke and circulation problems.

There are around 9,300 people with diabetes on GP registers across the city and this is expected to rise to 11,000 within three years.

The figures do not include the "missing" sufferers who have the condition but are unaware of it and not getting treatment.

One of the new jobs is being partly funded for a year by three pharmaceutical companies.

Holbrooks, Foleshill and Longford will be targeted because of the high numbers of sufferers in these areas.

City health chiefs hope both nurses will be appointed by the autumn.

Dr Rodney Swallow, co-chairman of Coventry Primary Care Trust's professional executive committee, said they hoped to develop specialist nurse posts across the city.

He said: "The numbers of people with diabetes are increasing and there are variations between the sorts of care people get, depending in particular on whether their GP practice has an interest in diabetes or runs a clinic.

"As a result there are some people who don't receive care in the community and so attend hospital clinics when strictly it is not necessary.

"This can put pressure on hospital services when there are problems recruiting diabetes consultants."